FOMO? Not with Duke Today

Apr 19, 2011

Last week, the Duke Communicators got a preview of the new Duke Today site, which is set to officially launch in the next day or two to the Duke community.

Last year, in What’s happening, Duke?, I wrote about how the Events@Duke calendar is becoming an indispensible electronic bulletin board of the galaxy of activities on this campus. Duke Today is a wonderful complement, and I’m excited to see this new version.

Our university is a sprawling place, and I’ve long harbored the notion that the perfect job would be as roving reporter with no more responsibility than to visit every nook and cranny of campus, attend whichever seminar or talk or concert seemed of interest, and then share the experience on my blog or social media streams. Put together, Duke Today, Events@Duke, Duke on Demand and Duke’s social media roundup page are giving us ways to stream the life and activity of the university to the web.

A couple of times in the last few weeks, I’ve heard the expression fear of missing out (FOMO); see Feel Like a Wallflower? Maybe It’s Your Facebook Wall, for example. I’ve never felt that, partly because I am always striving for balance in my life — the highlight of my days now is when I walk in the door at home and little Oliver comes toddling down the hallway to hug me hello — but also partly because I’m fascinated with the tools that are helping us to reflect the fullness of life, whether at home or on campus.

Anton Zuiker ☄